The Dallas Morning News article
May 10, 1999
by Keith Grave

His wife was within a few days of giving birth to their third daughter, and he knew he should have been home caring for the first two. One of them was sick. He still grieved over the loss of a friend and former teammate who was laid to rest a day earlier, and he was frustrated he couldn’t be there.

Instead, Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman managed to overcome myriad emotions Sunday and play a sensational hockey game. He celebrated his 34th birthday on Mother’s Day by scoring his team’s first two goals en route to a 4-0 victory over Colorado at McNichols Arena. That gave Detroit a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 Western Conference series with the archrival Avalanche as it moves to Joe Louis Arena.

It was in between shifts that Yzerman found solace in thoughts of others too far away. Like Lisa, his pregnant wife. Like former Detroit defenseman Steve Chiasson, who died in a car accident a week ago. Like his mom, who spent so many years shuttling him to practices and games when he was a youngster.

“You’d be surprised what goes through your mind during the game as you sit there,” Yzerman said. Mother’s Day, he said, and his birthday were a big deal at his house, at least to 5-year-old daughter Isabella. But it was his inability to attend Chiasson’s funeral Saturday in Peterborough, Ontario, that made the weekend most difficult. He went so far as to inquire about getting a private jet to get him to the funeral and back in time for Sunday’s noon faceoff, but logistics made it impossible.

“I just wish the world could be stopped for one day so I could have been there,” Yzerman said. He couldn’t, so he just played.

“His focus, his concentration are just incredible,” said linemate Brendan Shanahan, Yzerman’s best friend. “It’s all part of his package. He can do it all.”

Like work the power play, kill penalties, take every important faceoff and lead the playoffs in goal scoring with eight. Yzerman had six goals in 22 playoff games last year when he won the Conn Smythe Award as the post-season MVP. He’s the leading candidate again this spring.

Nicklas Lidstrom and Wendel Clark also scored for Detroit, and Bill Ranford made 28 saves for his second straight victory and first playoff shutout since 1992, for Edmonton against Vancouver.

Though Ranford was solid, he was forced to make only a few difficult saves thanks to the tenacious Detroit defense that has allowed just three even-strength goals in six playoff games.

“The difference was the guys in front of me played just unbelievable,” Ranford said. “A couple of times I didn’t seen the puck, but they were able to block it and keep it away.”

Ranford kept his focus, too, while the Avs were trying all sorts of tricks to rattle him. Midway through the first period, center Dale Hunter kicked ice into Ranford’s face as he was prone after a save. Late in the game, Hunter knocked down Ranford when he left his crease to play the puck.

And Hunter and Ranford are buddies, former teammates in Washington.

“That’s the way Hunts plays,” Ranford said. “I’m sure they were a little frustrated and just trying to set the tone for the next game.”

When it ended, someone asked Yzerman if he had ever had a birthday.

“Yes, I have,” he said. “But I can’t tell you what happened.”

And then he left a group of reporters standing there. His wife, due Tuesday, was on the phone.